From the Adriatic to the Alps: Transport and Trade Networks in Roman and Late Antique Northern Italy
By (author) James Page
Paperback (Published)
(March 2025)
ISBN: 9781803279732
8.07 x 11.42 inches
Price: $56.00
In stock
Examines inland trade in Roman Northern Italy, revealing complex dynamics beyond the proximity of coastlines. Using datasets of amphorae, finewares, and marble, it highlights the importance of transport costs, river networks, and trans-mountain trade, showing diverse consumption patterns and the interplay between cost and consumer choice.
During the Roman period, inland regions are often assumed to have been difficult to access, with imports and trade dropping off as distance from the coast increased. Long-distance maritime trade has been the subject of intensive study, but the complex dynamics that governed inland trade have not seen the same level of interest. Within this book, Northern Italy serves as a case study to explore the role transport cost and consumer choice played in the distribution of local and imported goods throughout inland regions. Using three contrasting, quantified datasets of amphorae, finewares, and marble (together forming the Material Data in Northern Italy (MADINI) dataset), chronological and spatial patterns in inland trade are analysed using aoristic analysis and hierarchical clustering. The results demonstrate that inland trade was far more complex than a simple regression of imports as distance from the coast increased. Clear zones of consumption across Northern Italy are seen in the distribution of the material data, often closely linked to transport costs. While the river network is shown to have been a crucial in facilitating inland transport, the significance of trans-mountain trade across the Alps and the Apennines has been underestimated. Areas furthest inland are often shown to have had the greatest diversity in the provenance and types of material, as opposed to coastal areas which demonstrate a more limited selection. The results highlight the diverse array of factors governing inland trade and the interplay between cost and choice in the decisions made by consumers.
Introduction Past Research on Trade in Northern Italy Towards a Quantitative Approach The MADINI Dataset Methods and Approaches Transport and Infrastructure: The Backbone of Economic Networks The Road Network The River Network The Canal Network Interconnected Infrastructure 'The Richest District'. Production and Exports from Northern Italy Transforming the Landscape: Adaptation and Exploitation Staple Goods: Wine, Cereals, and Oil Exports: Northern Italic Produce in the Roman World Amphorae: Containers and Consumables Zones of Production Chronological Trends Geographic Trends Amphora-borne Trade in Northern Italy Conclusions,
Introduction
Past Research on Trade in Northern Italy
Towards a Quantitative Approach
The MADINI Dataset
Methods and Approaches
Transport and Infrastructure: The Backbone of Economic Networks
The Road Network
The River Network
The Canal Network
Interconnected Infrastructure
‘The Richest District’. Production and Exports from Northern Italy
Transforming the Landscape: Adaptation and Exploitation
Staple Goods: Wine, Cereals, and Oil
Exports: Northern Italic Produce in the Roman World
Amphorae: Containers and Consumables
Zones of Production
Chronological Trends
Geographic Trends
Amphora-borne Trade in Northern Italy
Conclusions
Red-Slipped Finewares: Local and Long-Distance Consumption
Fineware Types and Zones of Production
Chronological Trends
Geographic Trends
Trade in Red-Slip Finewares in Northern Italy
Conclusion
Decorative Stone: Indulgence and Compromise
Zones of Extraction
Exploring Stone and Marble Trends
The Stone Trade in Northern Italy
Conclusions
Trade, Transport, and Economy in Northern Italy
Transport Costs and Networks
Zones of Consumption
Inland Trade: Costs and Other Factors
Chronological Variation: Amphorae and Finewares
A Disconnected and Isolated Region?
Conclusions
Appendix A: Fluvial Navigation in Northern Italy
Appendix B: Values Used in the Hierarchical Clustering
Amphorae
Red-Slipped Finewares
Decorative Stone
Bibliography
- By (author) James Page
Other Titles in this Series
Excavations at Chester. The Northern and Eastern Roman Extramural Settlements
Excavations 1990-2019 and other investigations
Roman Pottery and Glass Manufactures: Production and Trade in the Adriatic Region and Beyond
Proceedings of the 4th International Archaeological Colloquium (Crikvenica, 8-9 November 2017)
Between Roman Culture and Local Tradition
Roman Provincial Coinage of Bithynia and Pontus during the Reign of Trajan (98-117 AD)
The Urbanisation of the North-Western Provinces of the Roman Empire
A Juridical and Functional Approach to Town Life in Roman Gaul, Germania Inferior and Britain
Similar Books
Caesar’s Visions and Impact on the Roman Empire
Revisiting the Archaeological and Historical Record of the 40s BC
Volume 2
Etruscan and Roman Hellenistic Anatomical ex votos
Reassessing Popular Religious Expressions in Central Italy
Volume 8
Invisible Labour in Antiquity
Visualizing Obscure Work in the Ancient Mediterannean and West Asia
Volume 1
Late Antique villae in the Balkans (3rd–7th c. AD): Current Research Questions and Perspectives
HAEMUS Companion to the Late Antique Balkans 1
Volume 4
Portraying the Individual in the Roman East
Local–Imperial Entanglements in Sculpture, Mosaics, and Paintings (First–Fourth Centuries AD)
Volume 18
A Dramatic Event in Late Roman Florence
The Anomalous Burial Site Discovered beneath the Uffizi Gallery
Alexander the Great and the Campaign of Gaugamela
New Research on Topography and Chronology. IAMNI 1 (Italian Archaeological Mission to Northern Iraq)
Volume 53
Ceramic Finds in Context (Roman to Early Islamic Times)
Final Publications from the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project VII
Volume 13
Citizenship Practised, Citizenship Imagined
Multiple Ways of Experiencing Citizenship in the Greek World
Counterfeits, Imitations, and Copies of Roman Imperial Denarii
Making and Faking Coins on Both Sides of the Limes
Volume 8
Eating and Drinking along Ancient Roads and Rivers: Study Opportunities, Archaeological Sources and Open Issues about Diet Habits
Roads and Rivers 3
Explorations in Islamic Archaeology
Material Culture, Settlements, and Landscapes from the Mediterranean to Western Asia
Volume 7
Germania 101 (2023)
Anzeiger der Romisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts
Volume 101